Brighton have rejected a £70m offer for Moisés Caicedo from Chelsea, whose midfielder Conor Gallagher is being pursued by West Ham and Tottenham.
Caicedo is Chelsea’s main target as they hunt for midfield reinforcements and they remain focused on finding a compromise with Brighton, who are holding out for £100m for the Ecuador international. The clubs remain in talks and the expectation is that the transfer will go through.
With much of the focus on midfield for now, Chelsea could also try to bring in another defender after it emerged that Wesley Fofana has undergone surgery on an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Chelsea, who hope about £80m will secure Caicedo, are in the process of a major rebuild and have allowed several key midfielders to depart this year. Jorginho joined Arsenal in January and Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and N’Golo Kanté have left this summer. Although Mauricio Pochettino is short of options in central midfield, further exits have not been ruled out and there are doubts over Gallagher’s future at his boyhood club.
Spurs have held talks over a move for the England international, who has two years on his contract, and West Ham are keen to sign two midfielders after selling Declan Rice to Arsenal for £105m. Borussia Dortmund, Everton and Newcastle have previously targeted Gallagher, who had loans at Charlton, Swansea and Crystal Palace before breaking into Chelsea’s first-team squad last season.
Monaco’s Youssouf Fofana is another player on West Ham’s list. David Moyes is wavering over whether to bid for Fofana, a 24‑year‑old France international, because he is keen to sign players with Premier League experience.
Gallagher excelled when he spent the 2021-22 season at Palace, bringing him his first England call-up, and returned to Chelsea looking to establish himself. However he found it difficult to earn regular opportunities in central midfield and often found himself in unfamiliar roles. His energy and goalscoring threat appeal to Spurs, who could find it tough to negotiate with Chelsea, and West Ham.
Gallagher, who started 18 league games last season, will hope for more stability and clarity under Pochettino. There is a feeling that the 23-year-old, who is capable of playing as No 6 or No 8, will have a better chance of succeeding at Chelsea if he gets a solid run in his best position.
It remains to be seen whether Chelsea are prepared to sell Gallagher and how much money they would want. Enzo Fernández is their only other senior midfielder. Although there is a sense Chelsea could be open to offers for Gallagher, he will have a chance to catch Pochettino’s eye during the pre-season tour of the USA.
Chelsea face Brighton in Philadelphia on Saturday and there are bound to be discussions between executives over Caicedo. The 21-year-old wants to join Chelsea and Brighton are prepared to let him leave on their terms. Arsenal tried to sign Caicedo in January but did not come up with enough money.
Brighton have pointed to Chelsea breaking the British transfer record to sign Fernández for £106.8m in January and the amount Arsenal paid for Rice. They view Caicedo in similar terms, especially as he signed a new long-term deal in March. Sources have suggested Chelsea could end up paying close to £100m once add-ons are taken into account, with £80m suggested as the guaranteed portion of the fee.
It is likely talks would proceed more smoothly if Chelsea relented on their refusal to include Levi Colwill as part of a deal for Caicedo. Brighton had Colwill on loan last season and have had one bid for the defender rejected this summer. The chances of Chelsea selling the 20-year-old are low given that Fofana could miss most of next season.
Chelsea have sold Kalidou Koulibaly and Colwill could start against Liverpool on the opening weekend. Pochettino’s other options in central defence include Thiago Silva, Benoît Badiashile and Trevoh Chalobah. Badiashile is recovering from a groin injury and Chalobah has interest from Internazionale, although he could have to stay after Fofana’s latest injury. Since August 2021 Fofana has missed about 12 months of action because of three injuries.
Chelsea have other midfield targets and have a good chance of signing Southampton’s Roméo Lavia, who is also wanted by Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United. Gabri Veiga is another option.
Nine first-team players have left Chelsea this summer and they are in talks with Marseille over the sale of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Marseille have agreed terms with the striker and Fulham are expected to make an improved bid for Callum Hudson-Odoi. Hakim Ziyech is also up for sale and Romelu Lukaku is being pursued by Juventus and Al-Hilal. Juve’s move for Lukaku depends on them selling Dusan Vlahovic to Paris Saint-Germain.
